Watford Target Burnley Contract Rebel Andre Gray After Capture of Richarlison for £11.2m

After the 11.2m signing of Richarlison on a five-year contract, manager Marco Silva is looking to make a mark on his new Watford side. The Portuguese boss has reportedly set his sights on Burnley striker Andre Gray to add further firepower to his front line.

The Daily Mirror reports that with only one year to go on his current contract at Turf Moor, Burnley striker Gray could move on to a new project under the guidance of Silva, after impressing last season in the Premier League with nine goals in thirty two games.

As talisman and captain Troy Deeney recovers from a recent groin operation, the Hornets could do with further options to lead the attack, so Gray could be an excellent piece of business with a small fee possible due to a stall in contract talks.

Further teams such as Tottenham and Newcastle have been linked with the pacey English striker after his impressive finishing last term, even after a eyebrow raising four-game ban because of homophobic references in tweets recovered from his social media history.

His temperament has been called into question as the former Luton forward saw his name in the headlines for the wrong reasons in the 2016/17 campaign. Nevertheless, his eye for goal and all-round ability has seen Watford allegedly bid twice for the in-demand striker already.

A rumoured £8m bid was rejected by current manager Sean Dyche, who wants to keep his star striker at the club as they bid to repeat last year's success of Premier League survival on a shoestring budget. 

After the acquisition of Brazilian star Richarlison, who impressed for his previous club Fluminense with 15 goals, Watford are hopeful of further signings to compete for a top-ten finish this season.